not while hunting but always at the range.one day i may buy those pricy walkers game ear muffs

"Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person." - Fred Bear

I haven't ever worn hearing protection while deer hunting. I have for dove, but not for anything else. If all you're going to do is shoot 1 or 2 shots in a day, it is not going to screw up your hearing. It's the repeated hammering of something like duck or dove hunting that can really hurt.

Having said that, you bring up an interesting point: what about out of a wooden box blind. All I can say is ZOWIE! Back in 2005 my #2 son took a shot out of our blind at a doe with his 30-30. He was shooting out the front. I was spotting with binos out the side window. The rifle was angled about 45 degrees to the front of the blind and it put the muzzle about in line with my ears. The concussion was terrific! I got knocked off my stool. This was THROUGH 1/2" plywood. I was deaf in my left ear for two days.

On the other hand, if you're shooting perpendicular to the blind-- straight out, the blast from even a 30-06 can be quite uneventful if it's just you, or if you're the shooter. In fact, I can never remember a time where my hearing was affected by a shot while deer hunting. It's the guy next to you that will have the larger blast-- if it's just you alone, there's a cone of attenuation directly behind the hunter.

I have two sons that hunt, so I end up hunting next to someone most days of my season. In a box blind, a popup or an open buddy stand, whoever is taking the shots is supposed to give the other guy a chance to hold his ears. We usually count it off " 3,2, 1,. . ." in a low whisper.

3 or 4 years ago we were pistol hunting down south. i was in a ground blind with a buddie in his ground blind about 40 yards to my left. the deer entered the field in a position that offered him a shot but all i could is watch. he was shooting a taurus raging bull in .454 casull. when he shot i swear i saw the sides of his blind expand and contract. the rest of the eveining all he could manage was "what?" we still gut roll about that one.

"please join the N.R.A. as well as your state rifle association! these are critical times for ALL gun owners. Be informed, be active and stay vigilant"

No ear protection while hunting but definately at the range .
Pretty much oblivious to shooting at a deer , woodchuck , etc but it's a different story when you are putting a few rounds through a gun at a range !

When you people shoot from a wooden blind do you use any ear protection because of the gun noise ??????

Because your in an inclosed box the sound waves from the shot have no place to go so the waves will bounce back to your ears and could permanently damage your hearing. When your in the open this isn't as important, because the sound waves continue to travel away from you in the woods and because gun season is later in the year the leaves are gone, and they will not reflect the noise back to you. The game ears are expensive and ear muffs may not alarm you to the deers presents, you could line your box blind in soft foam to decrease the dB noise level.

All these guys make good points, but if you happen to be handgun hunting,the area of protection directly behind the gun is not like with a rifle. I struggle with using hearing protection while hunting on stand using a .44 mag. I have the headphones that allow you to hear, but you cannot tell where sounds come from when using them, so I go without. One shot from my .44 will have my ears ringing the rest of the day.

I wish I could go back 40 years and do that part of my hunting life over again. Then maybe I could hear a watch alarm again, or the sound of duck wings as they glide in over me, and I wouldn't have this constant ringing in my ears, 24/7/365.

I wear custom fit sonic ear valves while I hunt ANYTHING to save what's left of my hearing. When I tree stand hunted, I had a pair of shooter's muffs close at hand, and 90% of the time I was able to put them on before shooting.

Years ago we didn't have all the stuff for hearing protection like they do now, and "real men" just toughed it out. You can tell these special men today real easily. We are the ones going, WHAT????? all the time.

To not use all the modern hearing protection devices they now have in this day and age is STUPID!